Mathematical Literacy · Grade 11 · Exam Revision Date: Top Journal

Every distinction begins with one topic at a time.- start now

Paper 1 · Paper 2 · the whole exam on one map

BEFORE YOU WRITE · HOW THE GRADE 11 EXAM IS BUILT EXAM FORMAT

Mathematical Literacy is never maths for its own sake. Every mark hides inside a real situation: a till slip, a water bill, a bus timetable, a survey. Learn to read the situation and the sums look after themselves.· read the context, then do the maths

This section is the map of the whole Grade 11 Mathematical Literacy exam, not a re-teach of the content. Read it once, then let the mark-weighting tables decide where every remaining revision hour goes. Grade 11 is a school and provincial examination set against the national curriculum, so both papers are compulsory and there is no choice: you answer every question. There is also no multiple-choice section on the real paper, so every mark is earned by writing out working inside a real-life context.

Learning outcomes · after this section you can

State that the exam is two papers, each 100 marks in 2 hours, for a combined 200 marks.
Name which topics are examined in Paper 1 and which in Paper 2, and how many marks each topic carries in its own paper.
Explain the four cognitive levels and roughly what share of the marks each one carries.
Turn a question's mark allocation into a time budget, and protect method marks by always showing working.

📖 KEY DEFINITION L1 Knowing: reading a value straight off a table or graph, doing one given operation, rounding, or recalling a simple formula. L2 Routine procedures: a well-practised method in a familiar context, usually a few signposted steps. L3 Multi-step procedures: a problem that needs several linked steps in a less familiar setting, where you choose the method yourself. L4 Reasoning and reflecting: interpreting, comparing options, checking a claim, or judging whether a graph or decision is fair.

The two papers at a glance · each paper owns its own topics

The two papers do not cover the same content. In the 2023/24 teaching plan and the Eastern Cape November papers of 2022 to 2025, each one owns a set of topics and the marks inside each paper are allocated to them in roughly this proportion (CAPS Table 5 differs, and your school’s own paper may too). This is the single most valuable thing on this page, because it tells you exactly what to revise for each of the two exam days.

Paper	Topics examined, with their marks	Total marks	Duration
Paper 1	Finance 60 + Data handling 35 + Probability 5	100	2 hours
Paper 2	Measurement 55 + Maps and plans 40 + Probability 5	100	2 hours
Combined	Finance 60, Measurement 55, Maps and plans 40, Data handling 35, Probability 10	200	4 hours total

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Preparing as though every topic can appear in both papers. It cannot. Measurement and map work are not examined in Paper 1 at all, and finance is not examined in Paper 2, apart from one small costing carve-out worth about 5 marks that is always attached to a measurement or a map context, such as the cost of the material needed to cover a container or to tile a floor read off a plan. Probability is the only topic that appears in both papers, 5 marks in each. A learner who spends the night before Paper 2 on interest and budgets has revised the wrong paper.

How the marks divide by topic inside each paper

The cognitive-level split further down is an overall weighting. The topic split is the one that decides your revision timetable. Percentages carry a small tolerance of about 5 marks either way, so treat the mark figures as targets rather than a guarantee.

Paper	Topic	Share of that paper	Marks (out of 100)	What that buys you
Paper 1	Finance	60%	about 60	Documents, budgets, payslips with UIF, tariffs, VAT, interest, inflation, exchange rates, cost and selling price
	Data handling	35%	about 35	The data cycle, mean, median, mode, range, comparing two data sets, tables and every graph type
	Probability	5%	about 5	One or two short items, usually built off a table already in the question
Paper 2	Measurement	55%	about 55	Conversions, time, perimeter, area, volume, capacity, and supplied-formula surface area
	Maps and plans	40%	about 40	Number and line scale, directions, distance, speed and time, floor and layout plans, packaging and assembly
	Probability	5%	about 5	Usually read off the annexure plan or map itself

Measurement alone is 55 marks, more than half of Paper 2 and over a quarter of the whole exam. It is the biggest single topic in Paper 2 (only finance, at 60 marks in Paper 1, is bigger across the exam), and it is also the one learners most often leave until last.

📖 KEY DEFINITION The annexure (resource sheet). Many questions come with a separate answer sheet or annexure: a printed budget, a map, a floor plan, a timetable, a graph to complete, or a diagram to label. It carries real marks. Detach it, write your name and number on it, work directly on it where the question says to, and hand it in with your script. Losing an unnamed annexure loses every mark drawn on it.

The eight topics, and which paper each one is written in

Three of the eight are basic skills: interpreting and communicating answers and calculations, numbers and calculations with numbers, and patterns, relationships and representations. They carry no marks under their own name, but they are the machinery every other question runs on, so close to 20 marks a paper are actually won or lost on them under somebody else's heading. The other five are the application topics, and every mark in both papers is written under one of those five.

Topic	Written in	Typical context	What it involves
Interpreting and communicating	Both, no marks of its own	Every question you meet	Reading what the context is asking, choosing the operation, then writing the answer as a sentence with its unit and a stated conclusion.
Numbers and calculations	Both, no marks of its own	Shopping, recipes, rates	Ratio, rate, proportion, rounding, best-buy comparisons, percentages.
Patterns and relationships	Both, no marks of its own	Cost tables, tariffs	Reading number patterns, filling tables, drawing and reading straight-line and curved graphs.
Finance	Paper 1 only, 60 marks	Payslips, bank, shops	Budgets, income and expenditure, VAT, UIF, interest, tariffs, exchange rates.
Data handling	Paper 1 only, 35 marks	Surveys, reports	Averages, range, comparing two data sets, and reading bar, pie, line, histogram and scatter graphs.
Measurement	Paper 2 only, 55 marks	Building, cooking, tanks	Conversions, perimeter, area, volume, capacity, time, supplied-formula surface area.
Maps, plans and representations	Paper 2 only, 40 marks	Travel, buildings	Scale, distance, speed and time, route planning, floor plans and layouts.
Probability	Both, 5 marks in each	Games, weather, choices	Chance as a fraction, decimal or percentage, and judging fairness.

⚡ MUST MEMORISE

Paper 1: 100 marks, 2 hours, and it is Finance 60 + Data handling 35 + Probability 5.
Paper 2: 100 marks, 2 hours, and it is Measurement 55 + Maps and plans 40 + Probability 5.
Combined 200 marks over four hours, four questions per paper, no lettered sections, no choice and no multiple choice.
No measurement and no map work in Paper 1. No finance in Paper 2, beyond a small costing item tied to a measurement or a map.
Cognitive split overall (CAPS): L1 Knowing 30%, L2 Routine procedures 30%, L3 Multi-step procedures 20%, L4 Reasoning and reflecting 20%; the Eastern Cape memos tag each paper at about 32, 29, 19 and 19.
Show working on every calculation, keep the correct unit on every answer, and round only at the end unless told otherwise.
A basic (non-programmable) calculator is allowed and expected.

How the marks divide across cognitive levels

The marks are spread across four levels of thinking. The weighting below is the CAPS overall figure; CAPS sets each paper differently, and the Eastern Cape memos tag each paper at roughly 32, 29, 19 and 19 percent. Knowing and routine work make up 60% of the marks between them, so a learner who is calm and neat banks well over half the paper before any hard reasoning starts.

Level	Weighting	What earns these marks	Command words to expect
L1 Knowing	30%	Read a value off a table or graph, do one given operation, round a number	write down, read off, round
L2 Routine procedures	30%	A familiar method over a few signposted steps in a known context	calculate, determine, convert
L3 Multi-step procedures	20%	Several linked steps where you choose the method in a new context	calculate, show that, work out
L4 Reasoning and reflecting	20%	Interpret, compare options, check a claim, or judge fairness	explain, compare, verify, advise

⭐ EXAM FAVOURITE Questions that hand you a resource on the annexure and ask you to work on it: complete a budget, finish a table of values, plot or read a graph, or trace a route on a map. These are marked generously because the setup is done for you, so treat the annexure as a place to earn marks, not a rough page.

🔥 FREQUENTLY TESTED Method marks. In almost every calculation the marker credits the correct method even when the final number is slightly wrong, so a learner who writes each step still scores most of the marks after one slip. A learner who writes only a final answer and gets it wrong scores nothing at all. Working shown is the single biggest safety net in the paper.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Writing only a final answer with no working, so one slip costs the whole question. Dropping the unit (Rand, litres, km, minutes) off the answer. Rounding in the middle of a multi-step sum instead of at the end. Reading the wrong row or the wrong axis off the annexure. Leaving the annexure unnamed so its marks cannot be credited.

💡 EASY MARK Reading a single value off a supplied table or graph, doing one given operation such as one multiplication, and rounding exactly as instructed each cost nothing to get right. These L1 marks make up almost a third of the exam, yet capable learners still lose them by rushing past the short parts to reach the long ones.

Worked example · splitting a question's marks by cognitive level

Q: A finance question on Paper 1 is worth 20 marks. Using the overall cognitive-level weighting in the table, estimate how many of those 20 marks typically sit at each level. (Practice scenario, our own numbers.)

L1 Knowing: 30% of 20 = 6 marks

L2 Routine: 30% of 20 = 6 marks

L3 Multi-step: 20% of 20 = 4 marks

L4 Reasoning: 20% of 20 = 4 marks

∴ 6 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 20 marks, so 12 of the 20 (more than half) are earnable through direct reading and a well-drilled method, before any harder reasoning begins.

ONE-MINUTE SUMMARY

The Grade 11 Mathematical Literacy exam is Paper 1 (100 marks, 2 hours) plus Paper 2 (100 marks, 2 hours), a combined 200 marks, four questions per paper, every question compulsory and no multiple-choice section. The two papers carry different topics: Paper 1 is Finance 60, Data handling 35 and Probability 5, while Paper 2 is Measurement 55, Maps and plans 40 and Probability 5. In this pattern measurement and map work are not tested in Paper 1, and finance appears in Paper 2 only as a small costing item attached to a measurement or a map. The overall cognitive split is roughly 30% Knowing, 30% Routine procedures, 20% Multi-step procedures and 20% Reasoning and reflecting (each paper is tagged a little differently), so most marks reward reading carefully and applying a drilled method. Show working on every calculation, keep the unit on every answer, round only at the end, use the calculator that is allowed, and work directly on the annexure where the paper tells you to.

IN THE EXAM

Use your first reading minutes to find the annexure and any resource sheet, and write your name and number on it straight away.
Pace at about 1,2 minutes per mark across a 100-mark, 2-hour paper, and let the marks in brackets, not the question number, set your speed.
Show working on every calculation so that a single slip costs one mark, not the whole question, and always keep the unit on the answer.
Read the context and underline the numbers and units before choosing a method, and answer exactly the part number the paper asks.
Revise per paper, not per exam: finance and data for Paper 1, measurement and maps for Paper 2, and probability for both.

Paper 1 · 60 of its 100 marks · the biggest single block in the exam

PAPER 1 ONLY · BUDGETS, PAYSLIPS, INTEREST, VAT & TARIFFS NUMBERS & FINANCE

Finance is 60 of Paper 1's 100 marks, the largest single block anywhere in the exam. It is not set in Paper 2 at all, apart from a small costing item attached to a measurement or a plan. Every mark here runs on the same four number skills: percentage, rate, ratio and rounding.

Learning outcomes · you must be able to

Read a till slip, quotation, invoice, bank statement or municipal bill and pull the right figure out of it.
Build and balance a household budget, and say whether it runs a surplus or a deficit.
Work a payslip from gross income to net pay, calculating UIF and pension yourself and taking PAYE as a given figure.
Add and remove 15% VAT, and work between cost price, selling price, mark-up and profit.
Calculate a stepped tariff for electricity or water, adding a fixed charge to a block-by-block usage charge.
Compare bank accounts and calculate monthly bank charges from a fee table.
Compare simple and compound interest, by the year-by-year method and by formula.
Handle inflation, exchange rates, percentage change and the best buy.

📖 KEY DEFINITION Income vs expenditure: money received against money spent. Gross vs net income: gross is pay before deductions, net is what actually reaches your account after them. Fixed vs variable cost: a fixed cost stays the same each month (rent), a variable cost changes with use (airtime). Simple interest: interest worked out on the original amount only. Compound interest: interest worked out on the amount plus the interest already added, so it grows faster. VAT: a 15% tax added to most goods and services. Inflation: the rate at which prices rise on average each year, so the same money buys less.

1. Financial documents and the household budget

Question 1 of Paper 1 is about 20 to 25 marks of level-1 work (22 in November 2025), and most of it is reading a document. Know what each one carries before you meet it under time pressure.

Document	What it is	What the paper asks off it
Till slip	Proof of a shop purchase, item by item	Find a missing line total, the VAT amount, the change due, or the cost per unit
Quotation	A priced offer, valid for a stated period, before any work is done	Compare two quotations, add VAT, decide which is cheaper
Invoice	The bill after goods or services are delivered	Complete missing amounts, calculate VAT, work out the total due
Bank statement	A dated list of deposits, withdrawals, fees and a running balance	Find a missing balance, total the fees, spot the largest withdrawal
Municipal bill	Water, electricity, refuse and rates for one month	Read a tariff block, calculate the usage charge, add the fixed charge
Household budget	Planned income against planned expenses for a month	Complete missing rows, find the balance, advise on a surplus or a deficit

⚡ MUST MEMORISE

Job	How to do it
Budget balance	Balance = total income − total expenses (positive is a surplus, negative a deficit)
Net (take-home) pay	Net = gross income − total deductions
UIF (the one deduction you calculate as a percentage of gross)	UIF = 1% of gross, capped at R177,12 a month because the contribution ceiling is R17 712 of monthly earnings
PAYE on a payslip	Always GIVEN to you as a rand amount. You add it into the deductions column, you never work it out
Add VAT (15%)	Inclusive price = exclusive price × 1,15
Remove VAT (15%)	Exclusive price = inclusive price ÷ 1,15
Profit	Profit = selling price − cost price; percentage profit = profit ÷ cost price × 100
Simple interest	A = P(1 + i × n), where i is the rate as a decimal and n the number of years
Compound interest	A = P(1 + i)ⁿ
Percentage change	(new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100
Currency and best buy	Convert with the rate given; best buy compares unit price = price ÷ quantity

The rate i in the interest formulae is the percentage written as a decimal, so 8% becomes 0,08. Never mix a percentage and a decimal in the same line.

Worked example 1 · balancing a household budget (invented for practice)

Q: A household receives a salary of R14 200 and a child grant of R560 per month. Its expenses are rent R5 400, groceries R3 850, transport R1 600, electricity R980, school fees R1 200 and airtime R450. (a) Calculate the total income and total expenses. (b) State whether the budget runs a surplus or a deficit, and by how much. (c) Give one realistic suggestion to fix it, naming the item.

(a) Income = 14 200 + 560 = R14 760,00

Expenses = 5 400 + 3 850 + 1 600 + 980 + 1 200 + 450 = R13 480,00

(b) Balance = 14 760 − 13 480 = R1 280,00, which is positive, so the budget runs a surplus of R1 280,00.

(c) The surplus should be saved rather than spent: R1 280 a month put into an interest-bearing savings account builds an emergency fund. Had it been a deficit, the fix would be to cut a variable cost such as the R450 airtime or part of the R3 850 groceries, never the fixed rent.

∴ income R14 760, expenses R13 480, a surplus of R1 280,00 that should be saved (advice marks need a named item, not a general "spend less").

💡 EASY MARK Reading a figure straight off a budget, payslip or till slip, adding a short column of expenses, or rounding an amount of money to two decimal places are one-step level-1 marks. So is stating that a budget with expenses larger than income runs a deficit. Grab these in the first half hour before the longer interest and tariff parts.

2. Payslips, deductions and net pay

Worked example 2 · a payslip, from gross to net (invented for practice)

Q: Thandi earns a gross salary of R18 500 per month. Her payslip shows these deductions: PAYE of R2 405 (a given amount, already printed on the slip), pension at 7,5% of gross, UIF at 1% of gross subject to the monthly earnings ceiling, and medical aid R1 150. Calculate her net (take-home) pay.

PAYE = R2 405,00, read straight off the payslip, nothing to calculate

Pension = 7,5% of 18 500 = 0,075 × 18 500 = R1 387,50

UIF: R18 500 is above the ceiling of R17 712, so the 1% is charged on R17 712 = 0,01 × 17 712 = R177,12

Total deductions = 2 405 + 1 387,50 + 177,12 + 1 150 = R5 119,62

Net pay = gross − deductions = 18 500 − 5 119,62 = R13 380,38

∴ Thandi takes home R13 380,38, which is about 72% of her gross salary.

📖 KEY DEFINITION PAYE is a given figure, never a calculation. PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is the income tax an employer subtracts from a salary before paying it over. On a Grade 11 payslip it always arrives as a printed rand amount: your job is to read it, put it in the deductions column, and subtract it. Working PAYE out from a tax bracket table is Grade 12 content, and so are taxable income, rebates and the IRP5 form, so no Grade 11 question can ask you to produce it. The deductions you DO calculate are the percentage ones: pension, medical aid where a percentage is stated, and UIF at 1% of gross.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Trying to work PAYE out, or panicking because no tax table was supplied. Nothing is missing: the amount is on the slip. The real payslip mistakes are different ones, and they cost marks every year: taking a percentage deduction off the net figure instead of the gross, treating UIF as anything other than 1% of gross, and forgetting that UIF stops growing once monthly earnings reach R17 712, which caps the employee's share at R177,12 a month.

3. VAT, cost price, selling price and profit

VAT is 15% in South Africa and has been since 2018. It is added to most goods and services, but basic foods such as brown bread, maize meal, rice, dried beans, fresh fruit and vegetables are zero-rated, which is why a till slip often marks some lines with a star and others without.

Worked example 3 · adding and removing VAT (invented for practice)

Q: A kettle is priced at R520,00 excluding VAT. A second shop advertises the same kettle at R632,50 including VAT. (a) Find the first shop's VAT-inclusive price. (b) Find the second shop's VAT-exclusive price. (c) Which shop is cheaper?

(a) Inclusive = 520,00 × 1,15 = R598,00

(b) Exclusive = 632,50 ÷ 1,15 = R550,00

∴ the first shop is cheaper by R34,50 (compare two prices only once both include VAT, or once both exclude it).

Worked example 4 · cost price, selling price and profit (invented for practice)

Q: A learner bakes 60 muffins for a fundraiser. Ingredients cost R255,00 and packaging R48,00. Each muffin sells for R9,00. (a) Calculate the cost of making one muffin. (b) Calculate the profit on one muffin. (c) Calculate the total profit if all 60 are sold, and express it as a percentage of the total cost.

(a) Total cost = 255 + 48 = R303,00; cost per muffin = 303 ÷ 60 = R5,05

(b) Profit per muffin = 9,00 − 5,05 = R3,95

Percentage profit = 237 ÷ 303 × 100 = 78,2%

∴ R5,05 to make, R3,95 profit each, R237,00 in total, which is a 78,2% profit on cost (percentage profit is always measured against the COST price unless told otherwise).

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Multiplying by 1,15 to remove VAT. Adding VAT multiplies by 1,15; removing it divides by 1,15. Dividing by 0,85 is not the same thing and is wrong. A second slip is adding VAT by working out 15% and stopping there: 15% of the price is only the VAT amount, so the inclusive price still needs that amount added on. And a third is working a percentage deduction or mark-up off the wrong base, because pension, UIF and percentage profit are all measured against a stated starting amount, not against a figure you have already changed.

Where a question moves from a single item to a whole production run and asks when income first covers costs, that is a break-even question. The method (set income equal to cost, solve, then say what the answer means) is taught in full in the patterns and graphs section, because break-even is nearly always presented as two lines on one set of axes.

4. Stepped tariffs and the municipal bill

🔥 FREQUENTLY TESTED Stepped (block) tariffs for electricity and water appear year after year. The price per unit rises as you use more, so you must charge each block at its own rate and add the blocks, never charge all the units at the top rate. A fixed monthly (service) charge is then added once on top of the usage, and VAT is added at the end if the tariff table is quoted excluding VAT.

Worked example 5 · a three-block water tariff (invented for practice)

Q: A municipality charges water as follows: the first 6 kℓ free, the next 9 kℓ at R14,20 per kℓ, and every kℓ above 15 kℓ at R23,80 per kℓ. A fixed availability charge of R92,00 applies. A household uses 22 kℓ in a month. Calculate the total bill, excluding VAT.

Block 1: first 6 kℓ = R0,00

Block 2: next 9 kℓ (from 6 to 15) = 9 × 14,20 = R127,80

Block 3: the remainder = 22 − 15 = 7 kℓ, so 7 × 23,80 = R166,60

Usage = 0 + 127,80 + 166,60 = R294,40

Total = 294,40 + 92,00 = R386,40

∴ the bill is R386,40 before VAT (only the units INSIDE each block are charged at that block's rate, and the fixed charge is added once at the end).

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Charging every unit at the top block's rate, which in the example above would give 22 × 23,80 = R523,60 and lose every method mark. The other frequent slip is miscounting the size of a middle block: "the next 9 kℓ" runs from 6 kℓ to 15 kℓ, so it is nine units, not fifteen.

5. Banking accounts and bank charges

Bank questions hand you a fee table and a month's activity, and ask for the total charges or for a comparison of two accounts. The work is pure rate times quantity, but the reading has to be exact: a fee "per R100 or part thereof" always rounds up to the next whole hundred.

Worked example 6 · comparing two bank accounts (invented for practice)

Q: Account A charges a monthly fee of R65,00, plus R7,50 for each cash withdrawal and R2,20 for each card purchase. Account B charges a flat R135,00 a month with no transaction fees. In one month a customer makes 6 cash withdrawals and 14 card purchases. (a) Calculate the charges on Account A. (b) Advise which account suits this customer, with a reason.

(a) Monthly fee = R65,00

Withdrawals = 6 × 7,50 = R45,00

Card purchases = 14 × 2,20 = R30,80

Total on Account A = 65,00 + 45,00 + 30,80 = R140,80

(b) Account B costs R135,00, which is R5,80 less than Account A for this month's usage.

∴ Account B is cheaper by R5,80 for this pattern of use, and it also stays fixed if the customer transacts more often, whereas Account A rises with every extra transaction.

6. Simple and compound interest

Two methods earn full marks, and it is worth knowing both. The year-by-year method works the interest out one year at a time in a small table, which is what a marker expects to see as method. The formula method gets to the same answer in one line. Use the formula for speed, but if a question says "show all calculations" over two or three years, the table protects you.

Worked example 7 · simple against compound, both ways (invented for practice)

Q: R12 000 is invested for 3 years at 8% per year. Compare the final amount under simple interest and under compound interest.

Simple, by formula: A = P(1 + i × n) = 12 000(1 + 0,08 × 3) = 12 000 × 1,24 = R14 880,00

Simple, year by year: interest is 8% of the ORIGINAL R12 000 = R960 each year, so 3 × 960 = R2 880 added to R12 000 = R14 880,00. Same answer.

Compound, by formula: A = P(1 + i)ⁿ = 12 000(1,08)³ = 12 000 × 1,259712 = R15 116,54

Compound, year by year: Year 1: 12 000 × 1,08 = R12 960,00. Year 2: 12 960 × 1,08 = R13 996,80. Year 3: 13 996,80 × 1,08 = R15 116,54. Same answer.

Difference = 15 116,54 − 14 880 = R236,54 more under compound interest.

∴ compound interest earns R236,54 more, because each year's interest is added on and then also earns interest.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Rounding to two decimals at the end of every year in a compound calculation and carrying that rounded figure forward. Keep the full calculator value all the way through and round only the final answer, or the third year drifts by a rand or two. The other slip is leaving the rate as a whole number: 8% in the formula must be 0,08.

7. Inflation, exchange rates and the best buy

Inflation is compound interest wearing a different hat: prices grow by a percentage of last year's price, so the same formula applies. Exchange rates and best-buy comparisons are rate work, and the only real decision is whether to multiply or divide.

Worked example 8 · inflation over three years (invented for practice)

Q: A bicycle costs R4 500,00 today. Inflation averages 6% a year. What will the same bicycle cost in 3 years' time, to the nearest rand?

Future price = 4 500 × (1 + 0,06)³ = 4 500 × (1,06)³

= 4 500 × 1,191016 = R5 359,572

To the nearest rand: R5 360

∴ the bicycle will cost about R5 360, roughly R860 more, which is why an income that does not rise with inflation buys less each year.

Worked example 9 · exchange rate and best buy (invented for practice)

Q: The rand trades at R18,50 to 1 US dollar. (a) Convert R925 into dollars. (b) Convert $240 into rand. (c) A 750 g jar of coffee costs R89,25 and a 1,2 kg jar costs R138,00. Which is the better buy?

(a) Rand to dollars, so divide: 925 ÷ 18,50 = $50,00

(b) Dollars to rand, so multiply: 240 × 18,50 = R4 440,00

Large jar: 138,00 ÷ 1 200 = R0,115 per gram, which is R11,50 per 100 g.

∴ $50,00, R4 440,00, and the 1,2 kg jar is the better buy at R11,50 per 100 g against R11,90 for the small jar.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Multiplying when the quoted direction requires dividing. Write the rate as a sentence first: "R18,50 buys 1 dollar". Then going from rand to dollars must make the number smaller, so divide, and going from dollars to rand must make it bigger, so multiply. Check the size of your answer against that sentence before moving on.

⭐ EXAM FAVOURITE A full household budget on the annexure with two or three missing values to fill in, followed by "does this family have a surplus or a deficit?" and "suggest one way to balance the budget". The calculation marks are routine, and the advice part is a quick level-4 mark if you name a specific variable cost to cut. Its close cousin is the invoice or till slip with the VAT line blanked out.

Finance marks reward neatness. Lay the money out in a column, label every line, and the surplus or deficit is already staring back at you.· line it up before you add it up

Read the quantity, unit price and amount, then check the subtotal. On a trade invoice VAT is ADDED at 15%, which is not the same calculation as a till slip.

🧠 ACTIVE RECALL

VAT is charged at 15%. The VAT on an item costing R200 before VAT is:(1)

To add 15% VAT to a price in a single step, you multiply the price by:(1)

Net (take-home) pay is best described as:(1)

The petrol price rises from R22,40 to R23,80 per litre. The percentage increase is closest to:(2)

R5 000 is invested for 2 years at 10% per year simple interest. The final amount is:(2)

A 500 g pack of rice costs R24,00 and an 800 g pack costs R36,00. The better buy per 100 g is:(2)

An item costs a trader R30,00 and sells for R45,00. The percentage profit on the cost price is:(2)

A family has income of R7 800 (salary) plus R1 800 (part-time work). Their monthly expenses are rent R3 500, transport R1 200, electricity R900, water R650, groceries R2 400 and entertainment R1 500. (a) Show that the budget runs a deficit and state its size. (b) Suggest one realistic way to balance it.(5)

A microwave costs R1 725,00 including 15% VAT. (a) Calculate the price excluding VAT. (b) Hence determine the VAT amount, and show a check of your answer.(6)

An account charges R59,00 a month plus R8,40 per cash withdrawal and R1,90 per card purchase. In one month a customer makes 5 withdrawals and 11 card purchases. (a) Calculate the total bank charges. (b) A rival bank offers a flat R120,00 a month. Advise the customer, with a reason.(6)

Sipho earns a gross salary of R21 000 per month. His payslip shows a given PAYE amount of R3 200, pension at 7,5% of gross, UIF at 1% of gross subject to the monthly earnings ceiling, and medical aid R1 000. (a) Calculate his net monthly pay. (4) (b) He invests a R20 000 bonus for 3 years. Compare the final value at 9% per year under simple interest and under compound interest, and state which is better and by how much. (6) (c) His electricity is charged at R2,10 per kWh for the first 350 kWh and R2,85 per kWh after that. Calculate the usage charge for a month in which he uses 540 kWh, before any fixed charge. (3)(13)

Explain to a Grade 8 the difference between simple interest and compound interest, and why compound grows faster.

ONE-MINUTE SUMMARY

Finance is the largest single block of marks in the exam, and all of it sits in Paper 1: 60 of that paper's 100 marks. Know the financial documents on sight, because Question 1 is largely reading them. Net pay is gross minus every deduction, with UIF at 1% of gross to a R177,12 monthly ceiling and PAYE given, never calculated. A budget runs a surplus or deficit depending on whether income beats expenses, and advice marks need a named variable cost. Add 15% VAT by multiplying by 1,15 and remove it by dividing by 1,15; profit is selling price minus cost price, and percentage profit is measured on the cost price. Stepped tariffs charge each block at its own rate before a single fixed charge is added. Bank charges are a monthly fee plus a rate for each transaction. Simple interest, A = P(1 + i × n), adds the same amount each year, while compound interest, A = P(1 + i)ⁿ, earns interest on interest, and both can be shown year by year. Inflation behaves exactly like compound growth. Percentage change is (new − old) ÷ old × 100, currency uses the rate in the direction given, and best buy compares price per unit.

IN THE EXAM

Finance is Paper 1 work, 60 of that paper's 100 marks, so expect two or three questions built around a payslip, a budget, an invoice or a tariff table. It is not examined in Paper 2, apart from a small costing item tied to a measurement or a plan.
Question 1 is about 20 to 25 marks (22 in November 2025) of level-1 reading and single-step calculation off a document. Clear it quickly and protect time for the longer questions.
Show the deduction working line by line: a marker credits each correct step even if the final total slips.
For interest, write the rate as a decimal, state whether it is simple or compound, keep the full value between years, and round money to two decimals only at the end.
Charge stepped tariffs block by block, add the fixed charge once, and always finish with the Rand sign and two decimals.
For exchange rates, say the rate out loud as a sentence first, then decide whether the answer should get bigger or smaller.
Never bring an income-tax bracket table into an answer. It is Grade 12 content and there are no marks for it on your paper.

🔒 MEASURE & MAPS

🔒 DATA & PROB

🔒 PATTERNS

🔒 EXTRA SKILLS

🔒 TECHNIQUE

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Things I accomplished today

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Today I felt

Daily affirmations

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Feeling the pressure? Take a breath.

Exam stress is completely normal. Here are a few things that actually work. None of this replaces a doctor or a trusted adult.

Breathe in

Box breathing: 4 counts in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold. Do it four times.

Anxiety

Grounding: name 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you can touch.
Exam morning: eat, drink water, arrive early, avoid last-minute cramming.
Reframe "I am going to fail" into "I have prepared, I will do my best".

Concentration

Work in 25-minute blocks, then a 5-minute break (Pomodoro).
Put the phone in another room while you study.
One task at a time. Multitasking costs more than it saves.

Sleep

Cramming all night backfires: sleep is when the brain locks in memory.
No screens for 30 minutes before bed.
The same bedtime every night keeps the brain sharp.

Study habits

Active recall (testing yourself) beats passive re-reading by far.
Space your study across days; do not cram it all into one.
Practise past papers under time. That is exactly how these notes are built.

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Date	Subject	Topic	Done
Mon 8 Jul	Mathematical Literacy	Your weakest topic, notes + summary	✓
Tue 9 Jul	Mathematical Literacy	Next topic + 10 practice questions	✓
Wed 10 Jul	Mathematical Literacy	A full past paper under time	–
Thu 11 Jul	Mathematical Literacy	Mark the paper, revise weak spots	–

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